Much like the Turners of Brymbo and the Coulthursts of Bury, here is another couple with an intriguingly named brood.
Feargus O'Connor Youde, a Hair Dresser by trade, married Ann Bateman Callan in 1849 in Chester.
Feargus himself has a notable name. He was one of the nearly 400 children who were named "Feargus O'Connor" from 1839-1860. Several more children, including many girls, were given "Feargus O'Connor" as middle names, in honour of the famous Chartist. Other Chartists were also namesakes -- a partial list can be seen at this Chartist Ancestors site.
Ann, who is often listed as "Annie" on census records, received her mother's maiden name, Bateman, as a middlename. This may have been a family tradition, as her mother was Ann Powel Bateman.
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The Youde family on the 1881 census.
The couple had 5 daughters:
1. Elizabeth Ann Bateman (b.1870) was registered as "Elizabeth Ann Bateman Youde" but Christened as "Ann Elizabeth Bateman Youde". She was clearly given her mother's first names as her middle names. The 1871and 1901 census lists her as "Elizabeth", but, intriguingly, on both the 1881 (above) and 1891 census she is "Daisy". As Daisy was traditionally used as a diminutive for Margaret, it would be nice to think that there is an interesting story behind why Elizabeth was called Daisy.
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2. Alice Emily (b.1873) seems to have been known as Alice throughout her life.
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3. Beatrice Maud Victoria (b.1875) was called "Beatrice" on the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census. However, on the 1881 census (see above) she is listed, quite clearly, as "Beauty".
The image above is from the enumeration book and not the original household schedules. Forms were distributed to all households a couple of days before census night and were collected the next day. All of the details from the individual forms were later sorted and copied into enumerators' books, which are the images we have available. The original householders schedules from 1841 to 1901 were destroyed.
It is possible that Feargus wrote her name down as "Beatty" and it was misread when being copied into the enumeration book. Personally, I would like to think that Beauty is accurate. It somehow seems an appropriate nickname for the daughter of a Hair Dresser.
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4. Mary Norah Jeanette Alexandra Wilhelmina (b.1876) is listed on all the census records as "Norah".
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5. Stranger Miriam Lucretia Augusta Eurania Gwendoline (b.1878) is listed on the 1881 (above) and 1891 census as "Rainey". A clever nickname for Stranger you might think, but the plot thickens when we find her listed on the 1901 and 1911 census under her fifth name Eurania. She also appears as a witness for Beatrice's marriage as Eurania. So it would seem that Rainey was a nickname for Eurania, not Stranger, though I wonder whether it was a coincidence that it works for both.
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